The Psalms vs. Matthew 5:43-48; or, How do we pray for our enemies?

[ServantofGod]

"43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48

The "enemies" we pray for are wicked men who would do harm to us. How are we to pray for them? Can we not have same attitude as David, when, throughout the Psalms, he prays prayers such as these:

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.- Psalm 10:15

Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.- Psalm 11:6

9 Do to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”

13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
16 Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.- Psalm 83:9-18

If any man these days prayed this he would be cursed by his brothers!

"What, you think you are perfect that you can declare judgment on another person!? Where is the love, the grace? You should be the one going to hell for having an attitude like this!"

Obviously the Lord is speaking by His Spirit to David; are these prayers only for the wicked during the Old Testament days, as many would claim? Should one repent if prayers like these go through your head in a response to the wicked? What must a Christian pray like for his enemies?

Also note this Psalm of vengeance?:

But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!- Psalm 41:10

 

[Skyler]

"43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48

The "enemies" we pray for are wicked men who would do harm to us. How are we to pray for them? Can we not have same attitude as David, when, throughout the Psalms, he prays prayers such as these:
*snip*

If any man these days prayed this he would be cursed by his brothers!

"What, you think you are perfect that you can declare judgment on another person!? Where is the love, the grace? You should be the one going to hell for having an attitude like this!"

Obviously the Lord is speaking by His Spirit to David; are these prayers only for the wicked during the Old Testament days, as many would claim? Should one repent if prayers like these go through your head in a response to the wicked? What must a Christian pray like for his enemies?

Also note this Psalm of vengeance?:

But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!- Psalm 41:10

Judging from the passage in Matthew you referenced, I would think Christians are to treat their enemies the same way they treat the rest of the world, just as God sends rain impartially on those who are His elect and those who are His enemies.

I'm not sure how that relates to the passages in Psalms. I'm still working on that.

 

[David FCC]

All these portions must be read in context for example:

But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!- Psalm 41:10

This Psalm would appear to be a prophecy of Christ with reference to Judas Iscariot.

I'd have to look at the others a bit closer.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

As far as the Imprecatory Psalms go I recommend this book...

War Psalms of the Prince of Peace: Lessons from the Imprecatory Psalms

 

[Marrow Man]

 

[charliejunfan]

The Psalms are the prayers of Christ through David, Only Christ can pray these prayers because only He is Holy and Just, for Him it is ok to hate His neighbor because He is Holy and Just in doing so.

 

[Kim G]

The Psalms are the prayers of Christ through David, Only Christ can pray these prayers because only He is Holy and Just, for Him it is ok to hate His neighbor because He is Holy and Just in doing so.

???
I've never heard this reasoning before. Did Christ sin (Ps.51)? Is his frame only dust (Ps. 103)? We would have to say "yes" if we thought the Psalms were all his prayers.

The Psalms were prayers of David and other men who were in war and tribulation. Some of them are prophetic and Messianic. But that doesn't mean they are Christ's prayers.

Why do we sing Psalms if they aren't allowed to be our prayers to the Lord?

I don't fully understand the balance between loving our enemies and praying impreccatory prayers, but I don't think this is the answer.

 

[LawrenceU]

I've heard this before. I know that some see it this way. But, I don't buy it. It is true that the Lord is speaking through the Psalmist, but they are also the words of the Psalmist. It is not wrong for us to pray for the destruction of those who are enemies of our Lord.

 

[Guido's Brother]

I think we should also remember that God can destroy his enemies in a variety of ways. Think of how he destroyed Saul of Tarsus.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

Sometimes destruction is loving.

 

[brianeschen]

Often the New Testament is pitted against the Old Testament on this issue, but people often fail to remember that God called His people to love their enemies even in the Old Testament (Proverbs 25:21). And so the Psalms of David do not contradict the Proverbs of Solomon.

Jesus is dealing with personal wrongs in Matthew. It does not contradict prayers that God gives to be prayed against His enemies. We see the appropriateness of imprecatory prayer upheld in the explanation of the Lord's Prayer in the WLC (Q&A #190 and 191).

 

[ServantofGod]

 

[ChristianHedonist]

I think Eph 6:12 is relevant:

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

In light of this verse, I think we should not pray the imprecatory prayers of the Psalms against "flesh and blood." Our battle is against sin and against Satan and his demons, and against these things should the imprecatory prayers of the Psalms be prayed. We should pray imprecatory prayers against the sin that reigns in the lives of others, such that God will put their sinful nature to death and bring sinners to repentance and faith. We should also pray them against the sin that still indwells us as believers, that we would mortify our sinful nature.